The Predicteds (edition 2011)

Christine Seifert starts out with a great concept: Daphne Wright is forced to move to a new town just in time for a school shooting to inspire an uproar over a new program, PROFILE, that, while still in beta, will theoretically predict future negative behaviors. Honestly, I was sold by the concept alone when deciding to buy the book, and "The Predicteds" is possibly the best example I've ever found for why one should always read a book before buying it. The first thing that bugged me was the character; Daphne simply isn't likeable. It's really a fascinating twist on the Mary Sue concept, actually, and might be very successful were one to assume that Seifert was trying to create the world's most inconsistent character: everyone loves Daphne, wants to be her friend, and constantly insists on how gorgeous she is ("like Louise Brooks!") and yet she can't stand any of them. She disdains learning and yet manages to be the only character who isn't characterized by lack of intelligence or social tact, she constantly complains about the popular crowd while spending all of her time with them, and describes her clothes like clockwork every time a new scene starts while expressing pride that she isn't a slave to her appearance. As the other characters orbit around her, they appear so absorbed in their awe of her that they forget to do things like use common sense: in a story with a potential for complex moral questioning, the moral issues never reach further than PROFILE-deep, as no one even acknowledges the ethical issues at play and even as the "good" kids act worse than the "predicteds" there is no question-- ever-- raised that the PROFILE scores might not mean enough to make a difference. It didn't help that the story was painfully drawn out, as characters on the edge of finding out everything suddenly got distracted, hurt, or simply too angry (often without reason) to push for the three sentence explanation necessary to end the book. Oh, and did I mention that this is supposed to be a love story? It's okay, Daphne forgets too, wavering between shouting matches and make-out sessions with a boy who she hardly knows.
I picked up this book expecting a fascinating dystopian novel peppered with modern high school issues, as the summary and first chapter suggest. Instead, I found myself wading through a vapid high school drama reminiscent of "Twilight" but with, dare I say it, less interesting characters. Consider reading it if you're among those given a free review copy, but otherwise, exercise caution when contemplating making the commitment. ( )

Could you imagine waking up one day and being told that you are predicted? That they know you will commit a crime of some sort and have violent tendencies? That is exactly what is happening to the people around Daphne. They have created a program that tells them if someone has it in them to be violent and harm others. They think that this program will help the world rid of all things evil basically.Daphne is sucked into this world and against it. She doesn't agree with this new program. Especially since the one boy who happens to hold her heart is Predicted. Everyone in this town goes completely nuts once the results are revealed. A girl is found beaten to near death and Jesse is being blamed. Since he is predicted it's not hard to believe he is guilty. Daphne doesn't want to believe that Jesse is guilty, but every little clue is all leading back to Jesse.The Predicteds was super interesting and I was so lost in Daphne's world, that I was just as confused as she was through out the book. Of course, she made a couple of dumb decisions that I wanted to reach in and strangle her, but what is a book if it doesn't bring out those kinds of emotions? I was frustrated, confused, in awe, and at the edge of my seat all in one. I was just so curious to see how everything would turn out and just who was the psycho running around town. Oh, and I can't forget the intense and crazy opening. It was a very touchy subject to write since it has happened before, and more than once around the world, but I think Christine Seifert did an excellent job writing that first chapter. You will have to read the book the find out what I was saying. But I must warn you, it's one of those moments that if it were on a TV screen you would cover your eyes and wait til it was over.I give The Predicteds 4 our of 5 stars! ( )

What I love about Daphne's character is that she doesn't care. She befriends the goth girl AND the snobby rich girl. She doesn't care what other people think and that to me is admirable.

Quiet High is in an uproar about PROFILE, an experimental program that can predict what a student will do in the future. Kind of reminds me of that Tom Cruise movie Minority Report where the psychics predict who would commit a crime. In Predicteds, it's about a student's crime. Students whisper about other students and their families, basically stereotyping anyone who looks like they could committ a crime.

I have this knack for figuring out who the bad guy is and I was right. Not surprising but Christine really did entertain me and kept me turning those pages to find out who was doing setting up who. I enjoyed it and if you like mysteries just as much as me, I'm sure you'll gobble this novel right up.

RATING 4/5

QUOTES

I love the little quotes about the Predicteds story at the start of every chapter. It got my excitement up through the entire novel.

"Romance, Daphne, happens because of a little something called chemistry —when two people are drawn together for reasons that nobody can explain. It's like putting magnets together. Nobody knows why. One of life's great mysteries."—Dizzy (page 107)

"It drives me nuts that I don't have a cellphone. Recently, I saw someone on TV say that the pope has an iPhone. I'm truly behind the times." —Daphne (page 170) ( )

Scientists invent a program that can predict a student's future behavior. They test it in one high school. When one student goes on a rampage and kills himself, parents push for the scores to be revealed. At the center of this is a new student, Daphne. Her mother worked on the program but has ethical concerns about it. Daphne quickly makes friends with the popular crowd, but finds herself drawn to Jesse. Then one of the girls is brutally beaten and Daphne finds out that Jesse is predicted to be violent. Suspicion falls on him because of his relationship with the victim. Daphne doesn't know what to believe.

This was an interesting premise. The story shows just how quickly a mob mentality can start. People become willing to turn on their friends or family. It also looks at the concept of predetermination. Can someone overcome their environment and genes or are they fated to act destructively?

I did have a few problems with the story, though. First off, Jesse and Daphne barely know each other. I didn't find it surprising that she would doubt him. Jesse acts extremely hurt by that. Second, the school starts segregating people based on possible future behavior. No one says that's unconstitutional and at no point does a government agency get involved. The students who are being discriminated against never say you can't do that or stand up for themselves in any way. I found that hard to believe. Third, there were a lot of unexplained things. I couldn't figure out why Daphne continued to hang out with such obnoxious people when she didn't appear to like them. Why did her mother move her to the area where they were testing the program when she had such ethical concerns about it? What factors in Jesse's history made him predicted and why wasn't he violent? Why was he so involved with January? All of those holes were distracting, so while the concept was interesting, it was poorly executed. ( )

Read this review on my blog! --> The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

This book definitely had my attention from the start. It begins with a traumatic scene at the new high school where Daphne is attending, a scene in which Jesse pretty much keeps her out of harms way. He instantly caught my attention. And if I’m being honest with myself, he’s probably the main reason I was so hooked to this book. I pictured him as Tom Welling playing Clark Kent, with his skinny tie and plastic frame glasses, dark wavy hair and dark eyes. Oh, and a hunky body, too!! Mysterious, smart, funny, respectable. Who doesn’t love all these qualities in their hero?!

I actually read this book in one sitting. The mystery of the brutal attack on the female student, January, had me intrigued. While the obvious choice in every one’s eyes is Jesse because of his recent Predicted status, there are others who may have reasons for wanting to hurt January. Daphne wants to continue trusting and believing in Jesse, but it’s hard when she realizes he’s been hiding things from her. The truth may surprise some, but I suspected it above all others.

This story brought out some strong, angry emotions out of me! The mean girls? Hated them!! The parents of these mean girls? Hated them! The administrators for making the Predicteds list public and segregating the students on it? Hated them! The way the students and parents judged and discriminated against the Predicteds? Hated it! Do you see the trend here? Definitely wanted to yell at a few of these characters. Maybe even punch a couple of them. One person I really liked was Daphne’s mom, Melissa. She reminded me a little of Lorelai from Gilmore Girls.

While this book wasn’t the best thing I’ve read so far this year, I did enjoy it for the most part. I love when a book stays with me for days and Christine Seifert totally did this for me with The Predicteds. I look forward to seeing what else she has in store for us in the future. ( )